The Times’ Michael Grant has taken aim at Rangers’ transfer policy while speaking on The Press Box podcast.
Over the last few years, Rangers have managed to provide hits with signings such as Calvin Bassey, Joe Aribo and Ryan Kent, however, there have been far more poor recruits that arguably outweigh those good pieces of business.
This has ultimately left the Gers in a state of limbo when it comes to splashing the cash in the transfer market – but that’s not the only reason why, as they also hang onto players for too long, according to Grant.
Grant feels Rangers have seen too many players with once-high market values linger around their squad and not get any better.
He said: “They’ve spent a lot of money on a Turkish left-back who’s barely been seen.
“They’ve held onto Morelos, I think, now clearly too long, but they’re not going to realise any kind of value in him; they didn’t sell Barisic probably when they should’ve done; Kent’s value – who knows?
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“So I think there’s an issue with retaining players as well as recruiting them.”
TIF Thoughts on Rangers’ recruitment…
As mentioned above, apart from Bassey and potentially Aribo, who left for Southampton this summer, Rangers have failed to turn significant profits on any players over the last few years, and accompanied by their inability to qualify for the Champions League – until this season – it has left them hamstrung in the transfer market.
However, it’s not all just about the money as their city and league rivals usually face the same problems, but while Rangers brought in high-profile names such as Aaron Ramsey and Amad Diallo last January, Celtic dipped into the English third tier to bring in Matt O’Riley, who received praise for his display against Real Madrid last week.
If Rangers are to continue playing on Europe’s biggest stage and making the SPFL competitive for a prolonged period of time, they must ensure they have a solid transfer model that sees them recruit smartly for low fees on players that can develop and then be sold on for bigger profits as it will make them a lot more financially stable as well.